See Beyond

Five things our first 5,000 customers have taught us

Since January 1, 2017, we have delivered more than 5,000 miniscopes and thousands of people the world over have started to use the Personal Vision Tracker. The EyeQue team is learning a great deal from this early adopter community and we are grateful for the inputs we are receiving through test taking, support chats, and emails, allowing us to improve our product and the EyeQue service.

Five things the EyeQue community has taught us:

Accurate testing requires attentiveness– practice makes perfect. While the EyeQue vision test is not difficult, it is a not trivial and requires a certain level of attentiveness. As people take the test more frequently, not only does their speed to completion improve, but so does the accuracy and precision of the results. We already have some EyeQue all-stars developing in our global community. If you are one of them, we’d love for you to share your experience, photos and tips for taking the test. Don’t be shy!

Many people, but not all, are able to take tests and generate accurate EyeGlass Numbers. We have been pleased with the number of people who, upon receipt of the miniscope, quickly take their first tests and generate results with accuracy and precision. But not everyone is successful. There are a few conditions that prevent some people from self-administering an accurate test. We’re committed to assisting where we can help a user improve, troubleshooting an individual’s situation, and providing a full refund for folks unable to use the Personal Vision Tracker. If you need help please, just ask!

People under 40 have more of a challenge obtaining accurate results due to accommodation than those over 40. Many people under 40 who can optically accommodate –that is the ability to easily adjust the eye’s focus– may have trouble getting good measurements unless they learn how to properly use the non-testing eye to focus on an object far away. After age 40, it becomes difficult to adjust your eyes’ focus, which is also the main reason that people start to need reading glasses.That said, many under 40 years old are producing great results! We have found that younger users, with proper instruction, with concentration and by practicing (taking several tests), are able to overcome accommodation.

Phone supportability is our number one request. We thought optical questions would be the main source of inquiries but instead by far, the majority of inquiries are about supported phones. We support dozens of phones, and add to that list weekly. However, before we can support a phone we need to physically test the phone to insure compatibility with both the EyeQue miniscope and the myEyeQue app.We are getting many requests to support more phone brands and models. We have disappointed people who bought the device without checking the supported phone list posted to Kickstarter and our website. We learned the importance of message, redundancy, of crystal clear communication, and the value of responsiveness and clarification.

People all over the world love this idea and are eager to get their hands on it. We’ve heard from people all over the world who are excited, think the technology and the product are “cool,” have ideas about integrating this testing into their school programs, athletic programs, medical practices– and mostly, are excited about sharing their own device with family and friends. Many Optometrists, Opticians, and Ophthalmologists have expressed interest in incorporating the Personal Vision Tracker as an out-patient option. We’re thrilled with the excitement and share in the optimism of where we can take this and future products. While we accepted pledges during Kickstarter and have shipped miniscopes to 81 countries, we’re currently distributing only in the United States and Canada. We are anxious to expand our global footprint and expect to add more countries to our online store within the year.

So what’s next?

We are diligently reviewing the test data that is processed and stored within the EyeQue Cloud. The more tests that are taken, the smarter our algorithms become at detecting when someone is having trouble or takes an inaccurate test. This allows us to reach out and help someone improve their performance through some additional instruction.

Our next software release is planned for later this year and will include additional features to provide a more responsive user experience. We will add the option to receive reminders and notifications, such as when to check your eyes, and we will provide additional paths for trying and buying eye glasses. We will continue to increase the educational component of EyeQue, to help our community learn more about eyes and the importance of eye health. And we will continue to test, calibrate and qualify as many smartphones as possible to make this available to more people.